


Gotham For Two

by Emerald_Shadow



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Teacher Caline Bustier, Bee Chloé Bourgeois | Queen Bee, Caline Bustier Bashing, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Dragon Kagami Tsurugi | Ryuko, F/M, Good Teacher ms.Mendeleiev, Lila Rossi Bashing, Ms.Mendeleiev saves the day, Snake Luka Couffaine | Viperion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21606205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Shadow/pseuds/Emerald_Shadow
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng organized a spring field trip for her class but of course things didn't go as planned and she is still shunned by her class. Cut off from her formed support system  and almost completely alone in the most crime ridden city in the world, Marinette meets Damian Wayne via his dog, Titus and she might not be so alone anymore.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 80
Kudos: 1603





	1. Prolouge

The last year of Marinette's life felt like a beating worse than she'd ever received from an Akuma before.

  
Hawkmoth's Akumas were becoming stronger - if less frequent - and defeating them took much too long. Even with the permanent team of heroes she'd established to help her keep Paris safe, it was hard to keep everyone safe and de-akumatized the victim now that Chat Noir stopped turning up to fights.

  
Don't get her wrong, Ryuko, Viperon, and Queen Bee helped a great deal, but she had had to learn how to fight with them. With Chat she had had an established rhythm that - while not balanced at all - worked. Even with his very inappropriate flirtations and annoying jokes, he'd been there since the beginning. She'd always imagined the two of them going up against Hawkmoth and coming out of the battle triumphant. Now she knew that wouldn't happen.

  
Truthfully, Marinette was very close to taking Plagg away from him. He didn't help, didn't even bother to turn up to Akuma battles since she'd finally gotten it through his thick, thick skull that she wasn't going to date him, ever. The first couple of times she'd been worried because 'maybe something happened to Chat!' but it didn't take long for her to realize what was happening.

  
So she had talked to Master Fu and he said to give him a little time to get over his hissy fit (what he didn't tell her was that Plagg came to him a little before she had with the same concerns she has. He'd almost brought the black cat miraculous back). That was a week before Marinette had returned for the Dragon, Snake and Bee miraculi. That's when Kagami, Luka, and Chloe along with Marinette became known as the Superhero Team of Paris!

  
But all was not great or even mending. Her school life, while not completely miserable anymore now that she'd found an ally in the form of Chloe Bourgeois, hadn't improved in the six months Lila had been back. The liar was hell-bent on making everyone hate her and it was working. Alya had completely abandoned her in favor of Lila. They haven't hung out in over four months.

  
The rest of her classmates weren't much better, completely ignoring her until they needed something from their class rep. They followed Lila around like a flock of helpless, idiotic sheep did their herdess, unquestioning and loyal enough to be lead right into the slaughterhouse without as much as noise. Oh, how Marinette loathed their situation.

  
Chloe had moved to sit next to Marinette after a month of having Lila in their class. Sabrina, much like Lila, completely abandoned the blonde in favor of the Italian girl. Marinette understood that and didn't say a word about the sudden change. None of their classmates even noticed. What had cemented Chloe into Marinette's new group of friends (Luka and Kagami, who she had started hanging out with outside of school soon after Lila arrived) was her heartfelt and tearful apology. The two girls had held each other in the girl's bathroom and cried until they had no more tears to shed. It was so freeing.

  
But really, what had hurt most was Adrien's insistence that everything was alright. That "she isn't hurting anyone" when was so obviously making Marinette - their supposed 'Everyday Ladybug' - absolutely miserable. In the beginning, when Lila had gone too far, Marinette sometimes opened her mouth to debunk everything that liar was saying, Adrien would send her a look that screamed 'Don't do it you idiot!' and 'Be a doormat, don't provoke her' which was probably supposed to mean 'It's not worth it' but feel far too short.

  
Her image of Adrien had started to crack around the edges the first time it had happened. Back then, a year ago, they were only hairline fractures but by now they were chasms that had torn him into teeny, tiny pieces that lay scattered at her feet. She couldn't even stand to look at him now. She was so disappointed.

  
When she had shared what had happened between her and Adrien when Lila had come back with Chloe, she had raged. The blonde had yelled herself hoarse before breaking down in tears. She was mourning her childhood best friend, who had wanted the best for everyone and hugged everything that looked even a little sad or lonely. That was the second time Marinette had seen Chloe cry and the second time she had cried with her. They both mourned a dear friend that night.

  
Marinette's life had been falling apart just as much as she had and if it hadn't been for Chloe, Luka, Kagami, Jagged Stone, Penny, and Clara Nightingale she was sure she would have been irreparably broken.

  
Jagged and Penny had welcomed her with open arms, the Aunt and Uncle she'd never had, distracting her from dark moods and taking her to concerts and events she wasn't sure she could even name! Clara had asked her to design her some outfits after Jagged had recommended the teenage designer and Marinette had somehow gotten roped into working alongside the pop singer on many many occasions and the older girl had made it her job to prepare the bluenette for the fame that she was sure to gain. That along with the support of her real friends got her through a very tough year.

  
Now, if only she could make it through planning this class trip and leaving Paris to Ryuko and Viperon....


	2. Chapter 1

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was by no definition of the word 'Lazy'. She was relentless when it came to completing any task, attentive to every detail in the completion of all tasks and absolutely critical of every part of her tasks. And so what if she couldn't get up on time? She was a superhero who had to fight superpowered people almost every day and patrolled the city at night to make sure nothing went haywire. So sue her for wanting to get a little more than an hour of sleep in.

  
But it wasn't like anyone besides Chloe, Luka and Kagami would understand that. Maybe Chat Noir might have at one point or another but that was a long time ago. She hadn't seen fur or tail of in him six months.

  
Perhaps her work ethic might have played a part in her Class Rep elections all that time again. Oh, what she wouldn't give to go back to those simpler times.

  
And perhaps now it was also part of the reason why Ms. Bustier had asked her to help organize their spring vacation field trip. Every year a different class was allowed to go on a school field trip to any location as long as they had the funding for it and thanks to the amount of money Ms.Bustier and her class saved up for this specific field trip over their school carriers, they could go international!

  
Marinette had been tasked with drawing up a schedule and planning out every detail so that Ms.Bustier could arrange for everything to happen. And she had completed her part perfectly and in two out of the four weeks, she was given to plan it. Ms.Bustier had smiled at her when she handed over the packet but it looked forced. All of her teacher's smiles aimed at her were strained nowadays.

  
"Alright, class!" Ms.Bustier called from the front of the room. Her smile was genuine now. "As you all know, this is the year that we get to go on our Spring Field Trip," A round of cheering and excited whispers arose at the mention of the event they've all been looking forward to for years, "And I'm happy to inform you that we have a large enough budget thanks to all of your hard work and dedication to go international!"

  
Marinette, when planning the trip, aimed to please. She knew that it likely would not help her situation - next to nothing could at this point - but it still made her day to see her classmates and once friends so happy and excited.

  
A perfectly manicured hand reached over and wrapped itself around the top of her smaller dainty fingers. Marinette glanced over at her desk mate and smiled. Chloe was beaming at her, glossed lips pulled into a genuinely proud smile and mouthed 'Great job Mari'. Marinette's smile widened. Chloe knew that she was helping organize the field trip but Marinette had refused to share details, wanting to tease her friend a little.

  
"We'll be leaving for the airport at 6 am on the dot on April 7th so do not be late! Gotham is awaiting!" Ms.Bustier walked up the aisle between the desks passing out packets for the parents to sign and the students to read through to prepare. "We'll be taking a few English lessons during the next month to make sure you can communicate with people there."  
"Do you think Jagged can help us with that?" Chloe whispered to her as Ms.Bustier made her way back to the front of the classroom.

  
"Chloe, we've been talking in English with him and Penny for months now. I think we're good." Marinette replied, trying to repress her giggles. She was so glad to still have a friend in here.  
Once the school day had ended, Marinette and Chloe stood in the courtyard waiting for Kagami so the three of them could meet up with Luka at the mayor's hotel. And unfortunately for them, Lila and her herd were there too. Unsurprisingly, the gullible sheep were fawning of the fox in sheep's clothing.

  
"Lila since you know the Waynes could you get me an interview with them when we're in Gotham." Alya was almost bouncing in excitement. Think of how many views her blog would get if she had an exclusive interview with one of the most influential families in the world!

  
Lila laughed and waved a hand dismissively, "I don't just know the Waynes! Their youngest is my childhood best friend and..." she trailed off, gesturing for her classmates to lean in closer like she was about to share a secret, "we're dating!" she finished off in a stage whisper.

  
Everyone gasped, drawing back. Marinette barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Chloe had no such restraint and even scoffed. Neither of them believed a word she said.  
"But you can't tell anyone! He doesn't want to tell anyone in case the media gets a hold of it and makes me a target. So don't be offended if he pretends to not know me." And that was all it took to firmly cement their belief. Somehow, someway, the media would have most definitely caught them out as a couple, not to mention the whole 'make me a target'. Being 'best friends with Ladybug' already made her a target, being in a public relationship with a millionaire's son would hardly be any more dangerous.  
"They are all so gullible." Kagami's cool voice said from next to them.

  
Chloe and Marinette, both superheroes and friends of Kagami's for nearly a year now still couldn't get used to her silent ways.  
"They are ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe tacked on, turning her nose up at her classmate's as she and two of her best friends began the walk to her car.  
Marinette stayed silent. She could feel the glares of her 'friends' at her back, hear the hushed conversations and the disgust that radiated off of her classmates in waves. They had no idea that it was she who had arranged most of their Spring Trip, Ms.Bustier hadn't given her any credit and Lila had been waxing poetic about how their class rep had bullied her into helping their teacher plan because she was 'lazy and entitled and so mean!'.

  
It was sad how easy it was for Marinette to ignore the taunts, shoves, glares and insults her classmates threw at her at all times of the day. She had had to get a new phone number just to get some space. Her classmates had started to massage her with outlandish requests, expecting her to just give them free food from the bakery to sell at a bake sale for some event or another. Kim had asked again and again for her to make him a banner for some challenge or competition or what have you. Nino had expected her to make costumes for the whole class for another short film of his. And Alya.. she just sent her taunting and rude messages and called at the most inconvenient times to demand Marinette change something or another in order to accommodate another one of Lila's medical conditions or plans. She'd gotten so tired of it that she'd asked her parent's for a new number. After some explanation, they'd eagerly obliged, wanting the best for their daughter. Marinette had cried in her parent's arms that night, seven months ago.

  
"So Marinette..."Chloe began once they were situated in the backseat of her car and Jean was driving them to the hotel, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips on, "what do we have planned for Gotham?"


	3. Chapter 2

Marinette went over the packet before she had her parents sign it and fill out all the necessary information. While Ms.Bustier had kept most things, she'd also changed some details that really didn't need changing.

  
The hotel they were staying at now saved them some money, yes, but it was much worse in quality and they were going to end up paying more with all the hidden fees. Breakfast was not included in the room price, it was charged to the room which would be in the name of the school so the school would have to pay out of their own pockets. And if they thought that a bunch of teenagers weren't going to eat from the hotel fridge then they were really kidding themselves.

  
And then there was safety.

  
Marinette had been careful to select a hotel in one of the less crime-ridden parts of town and their new hotel was just a couple of kilometers away from a hotspot of illegal activity. She'd be very surprised if they made it through their stay without a break-in or attempted robbery. The only thing that reassured her was that she and her classmates all took some sort of self-defense lesson to give themselves a better chance during an Akuma attack. And two of Paris's heroes were going to be on the trip but she wasn't keen on spending every second of her trip with her classmates. She'd make sure that no harm came to them but she wasn't going to breathe down their necks. They likely wouldn't take kindly to that.

  
"Maman, Papa! I'm home!" Marinette announced as she stepped into her family's bakery on April 6th.

  
"Welcome home dear!" Sabine Cheng greeted her daughter with a warm smile. "Last day before the big trip! Are you excited."  
"Of course Maman, I can't wait to see America!" Marinette leaned down to kiss her mother's cheek, a small genuine smile tugging at her lips as she started up the stairs. "I'll see at dinner Maman, I have to finish a couple of things upstairs."

  
Sabine watched her daughter with a fond smile. Her little girl had become much more lively ever since the Spring Field Trip had been announced. She'd missed seeing that spark and joy in her daughter.

  
Over the last year, Marinette had become despondent and dim. She didn't move through life with the same joy and enthusiasm that her mother had gotten used to seeing.  
The two years before last, Marinette had become much more confident and certain of herself but in the past year, she had started to retreat into a shell. For months Sabine and Tom had seen their darling little girl come home with tears in her eyes and nearly hyperventilating ad they'd been so worried. Sometimes they'd even heard their treasure crying late in the night. It had broken their hearts.

  
When Marinette had asked them for a new phone number, Sabine and Tom became even more worried. Marinette had told them it was just a weird wrong number who kept calling her and leaving rude messages. They hadn't internally believed her but they didn't want to deny her something so seemingly small. The pure relief that had taken over her features when they'd agreed only fueled their suspicion.

  
So yes, Sabine was very grateful to see her daughter so lively again even though she still wanted to know the cause of her only child's pain.  
The chime of the bell above the door broke Sabine out of her thoughts as she turned to greet their customers.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/

  
"Are excited Marinette?" The small voice of the Ladybug kwami was barely heard over the music Marinette was playing as she worked.

  
"Course I am Tikki. I've always wanted to see American fashion and travel overseas. Two birds with one stone!" The bluenette didn't look up from her careful embroidery, not wanting to mess up the design when it was almost done.

  
"You could have said something sooner!" The chirpy energetic voice of Kaakli, the horse kwami joined their conversation. Master Fu had lent her the horse miraculous in case something were to happen in Paris that needed Ladybug and Queen Bee's immediate attention while they were in America, "I'd have gladly taken you over there for a visit! Maybe we could have even explored South America! Oh, it's been so long since we've been there!"

  
Marinette smiled as her Kwami's began conversing with one another about all the places they've been over their long long lives, half listening. She was curious about history as to how immortal little bug like gods experienced it but she was also almost finished with Jagged's suit jacket for a formal event that he'd been invited to and really didn't want to mess it up.

  
Clara's - who was also going to this event and keeping surprisingly hush-hush about it - dress had already been dropped off and Penny was coming by later to pick up Jagged's suit and she didn't want to disappoint.

  
Plus she had patrol with Ryuko, Viperon and Queen Bee later, just so they could go over the whole situation one last time. Chloe was obviously going to be coming with her on the trip and that cut their team in half, which wasn't good but they had plans and back up plans and contingency plans and back up back up plans. Very little could go wrong. Hopefully.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/

  
"Wake up Marinette!" three voices, two alarms, and an air horn went off simultaneously around her, jolting the bluenette awake with surprising effectiveness.

  
"I'm up!" Bluebell eyes widened as Marinette looked frantically around.

  
Two kwamis floated above her pillow next to the places her ears had been, trying to rein in their giggling and failing spectacularly, her phone and digital clocks were ringing off the chain, and her mother was halfway through the trapdoor that led to her room, air horn in hand.

  
"Good morning sweetie!" Sabine Cheng smiled sweetly at her daughter, "I didn't mean to scare you but you're leaving for America today and being late to the airport is a little different than being late to school. Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast, you have to be at the school in forty minutes."

  
With a last smile, Sabine ducked out of Marinette's room and went to prepare breakfast for her insomniac daughter. It was times like this were Marinette knew she couldn't ask for a better family.

  
Sliding out of bed with a yawn, Marinette gathered her preselected clothes into her arms and went to her bathroom to take a quick shower and prepare for the eight over flight plus waiting. Oh dear, she just realized that she was going to be locked in a metal tube with her classmates and Lila for eight hours! Well, this could end with her locked in the bathroom crying or an orient express style murder investigation.

  
With a sigh, Marinette got out of the shower, looking herself up and down in the mirror. Her hair had grown out over the last year, something she hadn't noticed. It now fell in wavy beach curls around her shoulders, brushing her shoulder blades in the back. Her muscles were much more defined, which she had sort of expected but holy crap! Now she looked like she could pose on the front of a sports magazine and they wouldn't have to photoshop a single muscle to define it more. She looked like a freaking weightlifter. Wow.

  
Lifting an arm, Marinette flexed in the mirror and stared in awe. I guess that's what happens when you're a superhero, she thought with a small smile. She was still short for her age but she made up for it in muscle now, no longer looking like a 5th grader.

  
The smile stretched into a grin as she pulled the sweaterdress she'd designed specifically for the trip over her head. It was knitted, falling halfway down her thighs and covering her hand if she didn't pull the sleeves up and made of soft gray yarn. She marveled at her creation for a moment longer than began to on her pinkish-grey tights and black combat boots with pink laces. She tied her hair up in two little space buns and dusted on the slightest bit of blush and pink eyeshadow.

  
Tikki grabbed a bottle of sheer sparkly pink lipgloss and swiped the brush across Marinette's lips while Kaakli sprayed her with a bit of strawberry perfume, "Marinette you have fifteen minutes to get to school!"

  
Quickly grabbing her small purse for her kwamis, which was filled to the brim with cookies and sugar cubes - Kaakli's chosen food - and slung it over her shoulders. The little gods quickly hid in their temporary home as Marinette placed her sketchbook and pencil case into her carry on bag, eyes sweeping over her desk to make sure she left nothing behind. Her main suitcase was already downstairs.

  
That was when it hit her how much her room had changed. Instead of photos of Adrien, there were design sketches and pictures of Luka and Kagami and Chloe and Jagged and Penny and Clara and her parents all over the walls. Scrap fabrics and mannequins dominated the space, half a bookshelf filled with used and unused sketchbooks, the other half occupied by under-way projects.

  
A grin made its way onto her lips as she descended the stairs, excitement filling the very essence of her being.

  
She was going to miss her home but she was sure she was going to love America.

  
Her life was shattered and messy but it was slowly mending.

  
She was going to be okay.


	4. Chapter 3

Marinette's good mood lasted just until she reached the school's entrance.   
Chloe wasn't there yet and they still had seven minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave, which meant she was going to be all alone and left to deal with her classmates without back up or moral support. No that's not true, she had Tikki and Kaakli! But then again, they were kwamis, they couldn't defend her from her classmates nor talk to her in public.   
As soon as she stopped by the school's staircase, she could feel the withering glares aimed at her and heard how the tones of everyone changed as they began whispering about her. Marinette took out her phone in a feeble attempt to distract herself.   
A chill ran down her spine and a single upward glance made it obvious why she suddenly felt so distraught. Lila and Alya were walking her way, the redhead trying to console the Italian girl who was sobbing dramatically and shaking like a leaf - it looked more like periodic shudders to Marinette but whatever. If her classmates wanted to be lambs for slaughter, let them. She’d long ago given up on trying to help them. They didn’t want her help so she wasn’t going to cause herself any unnecessary harm.   
“Marinette! How could you!” Alya’s cut through the air.   
She gave Lila’s shoulders one final squeeze and started towards the bluenette, probably preparing a verbal triad in order to abolish the young designer for something she didn’t do or the sausage haired brunette fabricated entirely. But before she could even within arm’s length of Marinette, she was blocked by the figure of the best fencer in their school.  
“You will leave Marinette alone.” Kagami’s voice was low, only meant for Alya and herself. Even though the Japanese girl’s were the color of sticky sweet honey there was no kindness or compassion there, only a fire raging like with a great dragons protectiveness. “If I so much as hear a rumor of you hurting Marinette, you will regret every. single. choice. you have ever made.”  
Alya’s eyes were wide and fearful as she looked from Kagami to Marinette, who was watching the exchange with an unreadable expression on her face.   
“Is there a problem here?” Chloe’s voice broke the silent bubble that had enveloped the trio.   
The blonde easy inserted herself half next to and half in front of Marinette, her expression hard and unforgiving as she surveyed each member of the confrontation, paying careful attention to Kagami’s body language. A year of being friends and partners-in-stopping-crime was plenty enough to clue her into how much of a threat Alya was in the Japanese fencer’s opinion.   
A taller, masculine figure now stood behind Marinette, leaning forward to rest his chin on top of her head, “Hey Mari. Everything okay?” Luka’s melodic, smooth voice held an edge as he took in the scene, though he focused more on Marinette then the threat. Kagami and Chloe could deal with that much better than he could if their twin, icy glares were anything to go by. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t have his fun.   
The smile he put on was a bastardized mockery of his usual easy-going smile, showing off his teeth in a way that seemed more like a threat. Alya swore there were long, venomous looking fangs where his canines were supposed to be.   
The redhead, without replying, spun on her heel and hightailed it back towards Lila and the gathering of their classmates. She could feel three scorching glares on her back, making the baby hair’s on her neck stand up. Alya shuddered, suddenly very uneasy and jumpy. No one, not even Nino could get her to say why.   
Marinette could feel herself shaking with suppressed laughter, finding her friends’ displays of intimidation amusing rather the frightening, for which her friends were infinitely glad for. All three heroes shed their aggression like replies shed their skins and turned to Marinette with bright smiles.   
Luka loosely wrapped his arms around Marinette’s shoulders in a secure embrace as she let out a wave of joyous laughter, genuine and pure. People around Paris noticed that flowers suddenly bloomed better and the sunshine seemed brighter. Chloe, ever one for physical contact, nearly threw herself at the duo, wrapping her arms around both their waists, pressing the side of her face into the side of Marinette’s head. Luka shifted a little to wrap an arm around Chloe’s shoulder, holding the other out to give Kagami space to join their huddle. Marinette pulled Chloe closer by her waist, holding her arm out much like Luka, expecting Kagami to join.   
The ‘Ice Queen’ rolled her honey eyes - now soft and filled with affection - and walked over, cuddling up to Marinette’s side. Kagami linked her fingers with the Marinette’s behind Chloe’s back and Chloe’s behind Luka’s back. Chloe and Marinette linked hands behind Kagami and Luka held them all by the shoulder, chin still cushioned on Marinette’s head. Chloe tilted her head onto Kagami’s shoulder and Kagami leaned over to press the side of her head against Luka’s shoulder. Marinette rested her forehead on Chloe’s shoulder, the fabric of the blonde’s black cardigan soft against her skin. She smiled and muttered a thank you to her lovely best friends, tears welling up in her eyes.   
“Alright, everyone! The bus is ready to leave! Onboard, let’s go!” Ms.Bustier called from the bus door, a bright smile copy and pasted onto her face.   
Ms.Mendeleiev rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised they didn’t roll out of her head. The older teacher didn't hate her colleague but she held very little respect for her. Caline's teaching methods, in her opinion, were too soft and hippie-like. Preaching kindness for all was great and all, but pulling aside the victim and lecturing them about escalating the conflict or trying to defend themselves was absurd. The science had on multiple occasions tried to talk some sense into the red-haired teacher but she never heeded her advice. And that was partially why she had volunteered to be the other chaperon on this little field trip. Mendeleiev wanted to get to the bottom of what was causing one of her brightest, most dedicated students to become desolate and distant. The interaction she'd just observed between four students and one student's older brother seemed promising enough.  
Said quartet had disentangled themselves from one another and were saying their teary goodbyes.  
Marinette swiped ruthlessly at her cheeks, trying to ebb the flow of tears, "I'm gonna miss you guys so much! I know it's only for two weeks and we can come back whenever for visits but I'm still gonna miss you guys!"  
Chloe's eyes were misty, and her smile was wavering as she embraced Luka then Kagami, mumbling, "Don't get sentimental now! I don't want to ruin my makeup!"  
A wave of weak chuckles and giggles washed over their group as Marinette gathered Kagami into her arms and whispered her goodbye. She couldn't even say anything to Luka, only able to hug him tight enough to beg for air before he had to go see his sister off. With one last three-person hug between the three girls, Chloe and Marinette gathered up their carry-ons and boarded the bus.   
/*/*/*/*/*/  
After a long, cramped and tedious flight which included a lot of discourse about seating arrangements - which almost devolved into a fistfight between Alya and Chloe - some truly terrible in-flight meals and plenty of uncomfortable seats and rude passengers, they were finally here!  
Marinette took her first breath of Gotham City - American - air and gagged.   
This truly was the promised land.


	5. Chapter 4

The bus that took them to their hotel showcased every little part of Gotham. They saw all the sickly looking allies, bright sparkling business district, colorfully blooming public parks, middle-class homes at the outskirts of town, and rotting brown areas that might have once been gardens or parks. Gotham had it all. It was so beautifully different from Paris that Marinette couldn't wait to see all of it. Already her mind was racing with clothing ideas, accents and colors and stitches and fabrics spinning like a tornado in her head.

  
Chloe, who was sitting next to the bluenette on the bus, chuckles, "I see the creative wheels are turning." Her tone was teasing as she leaned over to brush her black-clad shoulder against Marinette's own.

  
The small smile on the bluenette stretched into a full-on grin, "A change in scenery is known to inspire!"

  
The blonde next to her chuckled as they felt the bus under them come to a stop. Glancing up to look at the front of the bus - they'd chosen to sit in the very back to minimize the chance of conflict - wanting to know if it was only a traffic jam or if they'd finally reached their destination.

  
"Alright, class! Since it's so late and we're all tired, let's just check-in, unpack then head out for dinner! We will only be going a few blocks away to a wonderful little pizzeria so no need to shower or change just yet!" Ms.Bustier stood in the front of the bus, hands clasped and overly large grin fixed on her face. Ms.Mendeleiev let out an exhausted sigh that could be heard even where they were sitting.

  
Their classmates started to slowly get up, slinging bags over shoulders and shaking their seatmates awake. Everyone was eager to get off the bus that smelled vaguely of urine and stomach acid. It didn't help that the fabric of the seats were sticky and rusty copper-colored - though it wasn't clear if that was to hide blood stains or stained that color by dried blood. It was concerning no the less.

  
"We're gonna be rooming together right?" Marinette whispered to Chloe as they made their way down the center aisle, lugging their larger suitcases with them. The bus didn't have anywhere to keep them other than with the passengers.

  
"Of course!" Chloe managed to sound offended in a way that one could tell meant she wasn't really offended, "I wouldn't want to room with any of those ridiculous fools!" With a few words, she managed to make her statement fell like venom and like the entire notion was utterly - well - ridiculous.

  
Marinette smiled at her only friend in America and climbed off the bus, offering Chloe a hand. The blonde's luggage was twice the size of her own and while Marinette was the more obviously clumsy of the two, Chloe still had her fair share of stumbles. Not in public of course! No those were Luka, Kagami and Marinette's private little thing to witness that melted all their hearts. Chloe trusted them enough to drop her facade of a bratty rich girl and they adored it. The bee miraculous holder's stumbles usually also led to cuddle-piles and none of them could complain about that!

  
Chloe nodded in thanks as she hopped off the bus, lugging her suitcase with her effortlessly. One couldn’t go swinging and doing extreme parkour around Paris without developing some serious muscles after all.

  
A cursory glance around told them a lot about what kind of neighborhood they were staying in. Several of the buildings in the surrounding area of the hotel looked ready to crumble and should have been demolished years ago, there were suspicious substances and stains on the sidewalk that could have been anything from vomit to blood or maybe just a rotten cabbage imprint. It was worrying how hard it was to identity. There were people milling about on the streets but none of them seemed like the helpful or decent citizen type. One seemed more likely to be mugged by them than given helpfully detailed directions to the nearest outdoor cafe.

  
And that was all without taking the actual hotel into account. The multistory structure, while looking less like it would crumble at a moments notice, still didn’t look like it would live up to even the most generous health inspector’s standards. The outside - and Marinette was guessing the inside too - looked almost nothing like the pictures the hotel put on their website. It was clear that the site hasn’t been updated in a good couple of years. Maybe even a decade.

  
Marinette sighed in disappointment, shaking her head. Even after Ms.Bustier changed the hotel, she’d at least expected the teacher to do some amount of research into where they were going to be staying while in America. Unfortunately, that was most definitely not the case, as proven by Ms.Bustier’s slightly panicked expression even though she tried to keep her copy and pasted smile firmly in place. Their science teacher was surveying the building like a scientific anomaly, likely thinking things along the same line as Marinette herself.

  
“Alright, everyone! Here we are! Ms.Mendeleiev and I will get our room keys and while we do that, please partner up! Two to four to a room, please! And no the rooms are not co-Ed!” The younger teacher forced a really inappropriate amount of cheer into her voice.

  
At their teacher’s instruction, the class began shuffling into the building, reluctance radiating off of each of them. Everyone was whispering to one another, trying to figure out who they will room with. No one mentioned how Lila claimed she had planned the trip and being stuck in a place where they were likely to hear the bed above their own creak all night long would, therefore, be her fault.

  
Chloe and Marinette, secure in the knowledge that they’d room together and that no one would care and to stay with them anyways, began whispering to one another, discussing what they wanted to see most and what the schedule will be like to accommodate free time and mandatory activities. That is until Chloe abruptly spun on her heal in the middle of Marinette’s sentence and started glaring at Lila, protectively angling herself in front of the bluenette. Marinette was confused at the blonde’s sudden change of mood for only a moment.

  
“She said that if I didn’t pick the crappiest hotel I could find, she’d delete all the contacts on my phone! Even Prince Ali and the green group’s group chat!” Lila wept, rubbing nonexistent tears off her cheeks. She hunched her shoulders and bowed her head, periodically letting out pathetic imitations of sobs.

  
Alya gathered the Italian girl in her arms and started muttering comforting words to her while she and the rest of their classmates started glaring in Marinette’s direction, eyes filled with disgust and the promise that she’ll pay for hurting their darling, innocent friend.

  
Chloe bristled, nearly buzzing with the energy she so desperately wanted to use to throttle their classmates. The only thing that stopped the blonde from marching over and giving that liar a piece of her mind was the small hand on her forearm that tightened just enough to convey Marinette's message. 'They aren't worth it' or 'Don't rush in head first' as it was known when they were out crimefighting.

  
"Come on, let's get our room keys from Ms.Bustier and get to our room. I don't know about you but these bags feel like they weigh a ton!" Pink lips were pulled into a convincing smile but bluebell eyes betrayed the true hurt Marinette felt. There was a message in those blue depths too. 'Please get me out of here!' they begged.

  
This little interaction did not go unnoticed by Ms.Mendeleiev, who was scrutinizing Caline's class very closely ever since they left the school. There was an obvious imbalance of power within the class and Lila Rossi was at the center of it all. Mendeleiev had had the misfortune to teach her over the course of the last year but it hadn't taken much for the girl to learn her lesson. No one spoke out of turn in her class, not even Lila Rossi, golden child, and storyteller extraordinaire.

  
Ms.Mendeleiev very nearly twitched when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was mentioned in such a manner by the Italian girl. Ms.Dupain-Cheng was a model student and one of the best class representatives she had ever had the fortune to teach. The science teacher knew for a fact because Ms.Dupain-Cheng had personally come to ask her about the best location to visit for the science requirement over the course of the trip. The bluenette had come in after-hours to get that information too and looked quite frazzled too - like that information was a crucial part of saving the world. Ms.Rossi had never entered her classroom unless and until she absolutely had to.

  
The purple-haired teacher's eyes darted over to where Ms.Dupain-Cheng and Ms. Bourgeois were standing near the elevators. Ms.Bourgeois looked ready to charge her classmates and it seemed the only thing stopping her from doing so was Ms.Dupain-Cheng's hand on her forearm. The blonde turned to her classmate and opened her mouth only to pause when Ms.Dupain-Cheng gave her a look. The taller girl's eyes darted towards the elevator then Ms.Bustier and Ms.Mendeleiev, her shoulders dropping. It amazed the science teacher that Ms.Dupain-Cheng could rein in one of the most troublesome and stubborn students that had ever walked the halls of Collège Françoise Dupont with just a look.

  
The bluenette said something to Chloe who closed her mouth and marched determinedly over to the two chaperoning teachers. Ms.Mendeleiev raised an eyebrow, looking at the blonde over the rim of her glasses as she demanded a room key from her homeroom teacher. Ms.Bustier, still wearing that ludicrous smile, handed over a set of room keys after checking the room number and jotting it down next to each students name on her attendance list.

  
Ms.Bourgeois spun on her heel without so much as a word and marched right back over to Ms.Dupain-Cheng, grabbing her suitcase and stabbing her finger at the up button on to call the elevator so hard, Ms.Mendeleiev was surprised she didn't break a nail. Or add repair fees to the school's already ridiculously long bill for this hotel alone.

  
As soon as Mses Dupain-Cheng and Bourgeois disappeared behind the closed doors of the elevator, the volume of the student body gathered in the lobby decreased drastically. The loud murmuring that had been ever-present since they'd entered the building and Ms.Rossi began to speak died down into low whispers and the stuffy hostility surrounding the main group of students evaporated like water.

  
Just what was going on in Ms.Caline Bustier's homeroom?

  
/*/*/*/*/*/

  
Damian Wayne lived a double life that was very unlike most celebrities' and millionaires'. Most filthy rich people were also involved in some sort of illegal activity that they assume a pseudonym for, though whether they do it to make themselves even richer or to shake up their usually monotonous and boring lives varies from case to case. No, Damian Al Ghul - Wayne - and just the Waynes in general - dabbled in a little something called vigilantism - which many could argue as being illegal but most Waynes had never really care for what others thought.

  
Now, being a vigilante was not easy or fun. No, it was grueling hard work, nonstop stress, and constant lies. Damian loved it. He loved the stretch of his muscles as he 'flew' over his city, the time crunch of solving cases, the burning feeling all over his that left him wanting to collapse into bed after a long night's patrol. He loved knowing something so few people knew because knowledge was power and power was - as he was taught since birth - everything.

  
Robin - Damian's inherited alter ego - leapt from rooftop to rooftop shortly after the sun had set over his - their - crime-riddled city, just waiting for some low life to cause a commotion. He was itching for a good fight.

  
A collection of shrieks and a gunshot rang through the chilly night air, coming from a nearby dead-end alleyway.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/

  
The promised pizzeria was closer to the center of the city, therefore in a slightly better neighborhood than the one their hotel was in. The food was decent and it was truly amazing to see just how much English their classmates knew. Most of them were pretty lost and barely able to order a slice of margarita and a fountain drink.

  
Marinette and Chloe privately laughed at their classmate's ridiculous attempts at speaking the English language. Lila had made Alya order for her, sighting blurry vision and dizziness so that she didn't even have to go up to the counter. It was really ridiculous how no one tried to bring this up with the teachers and brushed it off as normal. Marinette really pitied her classmates for their collective idiocy.

  
But it was on the way back to the hotel that things actually got interesting. Ms.Bustier had tried to take a short cut, which turned into a very completed mistake because by the time everyone managed to turn around there was a man with a gun blocking the only exit from the filthy hole-in-the-wall.

  
Everyone immediately tensed up but some things took a little longer to register in their minds. One of those things was that - to the public's knowledge- Ladybug was not here and therefore wasn't able to simply cast a Miraculous Cure to simply cure them all. Another was that they were being held at gunpoint and unable to understand a single slurred word out of the man's mouth.

  
The gritty man held out the hand that wasn't holding the gun expectantly. Oh. So he wanted their money.

  
Marinette's nose twitched as she began formulating a plan. Her bluebell eyes darted around the alley, searching for anything they could possibly use as a weapon. Chloe simply waited for Marinette, keeping an eye on their mugger to make sure he didn't try anything. When the blonde saw her petite classmate sneaking up behind their assailant, she didn't even flinch. Marinette, when in a dire situation, was known to come up with a plan and begin acting on it before she even thinks about sharing it with others.

  
The bluenette tapped her bag and through the process of elimination, Chloe was able to determine exactly what she was planning. A sharp twist of her wrist in the general direction of their mugger's gun holding hand was all that Chloe needed to be one hundred percent sure of what Marinette wanted her to do.

  
Chloe stepped forward, making her lips waver and hands shake much more convincingly then Lila ever managed. The gun was immediately pointed at her. Their attacker was short, maybe a few centimeters taller than her, which was a good advantage to have, and clearly drunk, high as a kite or both. It was hard to tell, as he's BO was strong enough to mask both.  
Marinette carefully stepped forward as Chloe held up her arms, her wallet in hand. The bluenette met the blonde's eyes over the man's shoulder and nodded. It was all the signal they both needed.

  
Marinette, now standing directly behind the mugger, kicked the back of his kneecap, causing him to falter and fall onto one knee at the same time as Chloe surged forward, grabbing his gun-wielding hand by the wrist and pushing it upwards. The man managed to fire a single bullet - causing their classmates and Ms.Bustier to shriek - before Chloe twisted her own hand and pressed her thumb right where his wrist connected to his palm, triggering the muscle to automatically whatever was held in that hand. Which just so happened to be the gun.

  
Marinette had grabbed the arm waiting for money to be dropped into the palm of and twisted it painfully behind the mugger's back, near dislocating his shoulder.

  
Their unlucky victim let out a cry of pain and rage, jerking in their grips but a single pull from Marinette had him stilling. Chloe was quick to twist his arm behind him, hooking her leg around his ankle and pulling it back till he was fully kneeling before them. Both their expressions were carved from stone as their victim yelped, leaning forward in a futile attempt to ease his pain. It didn't work.

  
A heavy thump commanded their attention just as they were about to discuss what to do with this petty criminal. All heads turned to the figure clad in red black and yellow as he stood up straight. His cloak fluttered around him, blown by a wind that affected only him. No one could see his eyes under the whites of his mask but everyone could feel his attention on themselves. His gaze landed on Marinette last and she got the distinct impression that he was raising an eyebrow at her.

  
"It seems you don't need my assistance with defending yourself." His voice sent electricity coursing through Marinette's veins and his tone made her want to giggle. It only took a brief glance around to know that no one else got the joke. That only made Marinette want to laugh more.

  
It felt like a special thing, just for her.


	6. Chapter 5

Damian had not been expected to see anything special on patrol that particular night. Father had done headcount at Arkham just last night and while it wasn’t impossible for someone to break out over the course of the day, they’d at least take some time to prepare in order to make their return a spectacle. And he most certainly hadn’t expected to see a school tourist group cowering in an alley while two of the students disarmed their attacker, an intoxicated man with a gun.

  
Damian has waited to see how it would turn out, ready to interfere at a moments notice. After all, this might be one of the milder threats Gotham had to offer but then again, these weren’t native Gothamites. They were likely a European school on a field trip who had no idea what kind of city Gotham was.

  
He had noticed that the redheaded teacher didn’t make a move to do anything about two of her students moving toward the armed man trying to rob them. Damian sneered at her, disgusted. The purple-haired adult at least made an attempt to corral the rest of the students and reduce their panic. So one of them was semi-competent.

  
The student that snuck around their attacker made a couple of vague gestures to her blonde classmate who didn’t show any signs of acknowledgment that he could see. Then the bluenette behind the man bobbed her head and both students launched into action. The bluenette brought the gunman to his knees while the blonde disarmed him with a smooth moment that she had clearly done many times before. Damian wondered why they had this whole situation down pat. And from the looks of it, had multiple solutions to this specific situation.

  
His suspension rose almost immediately as his mind cycled through every possibility that he could think of but none of them fit those two. Damian soon came to the conclusion that if he wanted to learn more about those two and why they took down a grown man with ease and had the same silent communication ability everyone in his family did.

  
He took his time looking the entire class over, knowing that his slow assessment was putting them on edge. Even the blonde holding on of the crook's arms stiffened slightly. Though not in fear or worry. She seemed to be preparing for a fight. That’s a smart one.

  
When his gaze landed on the bluenette, the clear leader in the situation, he quirked an eyebrow, not that they could see, but he still enjoyed making the expression, “It seems you don't need my assistance with defending yourself."

  
He could see the bluenette’s blue eyes light up with mirth. He felt the slightest bit of blood rush to his cheeks. Her bluebell eyes were the prettiest he had ever seen but there was something else in those beautiful sky blue depths, something absolutely should not be there at all.

  
The bluenette, who looked absolutely adorable in her knitted dress and space buns, stepped forward, the sound of her combat boots landing on the ground echoed down the alley. Those looked heavy duty and made her into a formidable opponent without taking away from her innocent demeanor. If he hadn’t just seen it himself, he would never have believed that this girl was instrumental in taking down an armed mugger.

  
“You are one of Gotham’s,” here she paused - her nose scrunching in an adorable manner and she was clearly in thought - then light up a little, proud of herself when she found the right word, “vigilantes, yes?”

  
Damian nodded, face stoic. He didn't want the bluenette to know how cute he found her accent and under no circumstances was he going to fawn - no that was too strong of a word - engage in a casual conversation with her about how she almost single handedly took down a gunman and compliment how she and her partner were able to coordinate their attacks on their would-be mugger.

  
"Lovely!" Her English was excellent, Damian noted as if she regularly spoke it outside of a classroom setting. English speaking parent maybe? "Could you please show us to the nearest police station so we can turn this man?"

  
Damian was surprised. Most people would have thrown themselves at him, blubbering and floundering to understand what had just happened to them. A quick glance in the rest of the class's direction confirmed that most of them were on the verge of doing just that, though the purple-haired teacher managed to establish some form of order. The red-haired teacher looked utterly useless, being in much the same condition as her students.

  
"I don't think your classmates would be up for the trip." The blonde, who now had the mugger face down on the pavement and was in the process of tying his hands behind his back with a filthy piece of rope, scoffed.

  
"They should not cower so. It is not like this is the first time they have been held up in this way." Her accent was thicker than the bluenette's and while her English was a little choppy, it was still easily understandable.

  
What has caught his attention, however, was the fact that this wasn't the first time their group had been held at weapon point, "You mean here in Gotham?" That wouldn't be unusual, this is Gotham city they were talking about after all.

  
The bluenette opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by the blonde, "No. Things like this, similar things, are not uncommon in Paris either."

  
Damian hadn't heard anything about a spike of criminal activity in Paris. He was going to have research this further once he got home from patrol. He heard the bluenette sigh as she turned away from him and began talking to the purple-haired teacher in rapid French, which he could barely keep up with. He gathered enough to know she was asking permission to go with him and Chloe - he guessed that was the blonde, who had dragged the would-be mugger to his feet and was waiting patiently for her friend and teacher to finish talking - to the police station to file a report. The stern-looking teacher gave a firm no while her colleague took over trying to calm the still frantic and panicked looking kids. Honestly, he doubted they could last a week here.  
However, just as Marinette - the teacher had addressed her by name, which conveyed to the bluenette just how serious Ms.Mendeleiev was - began to protest, Robin decided to step in. In perfect French, he said, "I witnessed enough to be able to report this to the police and there is a weapon with his fingerprints all over it. If that's not enough, I'm sure the police will contact you somehow."

  
A brief flash of surprise rippled over the three French women before all of them settled into a slightly different variation of a thinking expression. He noted how Chloe seemed to be considering his person more than both his offer and knowledge of fluent French.

  
Marinette was the first to speak though, still in English, "Thank you. We appreciate it." She sounded sincere, her eyes bright with gratitude and yet he didn't doubt the light in them was dimed by something, he just didn't know what. A familiar emotion was also buried somewhere in the depths of those steel-blue orbs but he just couldn't put a finger on exactly what that emotion was.

  
Chloe took that as her cue to drag the crook over to him, offering him his arm to grab in order for him to be able to properly escort the scumbag to the police station. Personally escorting a petty criminal to the police station. Huh. That was new. The blonde jerked her head in the direction she had come from and Damian immediately noticed the gun on the ground. He quickly picked it up, making sure the safety was on before storing in one of the countless pockets on his utility belt.

  
"Thank you. Have a lovely evening." And with that, Robin, along with the would-be armed robber, disappeared into the night.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/

So that was one of Gotham's vigilantes, Marinette thought as she fell backward onto the dingy hotel bed. He was nice. And funny.

  
When she had chosen Gotham city, Marinette had been well aware of the city's reputation and it's supervillain problem. She hadn't thought much of it, seeing as how the shadow of a magical terrorist loomed over their own hometown but she had done a lot of research about the city's villains AND vigilantes, just to be on the safe side of things. In that, she had learned that there had been multiple Robins that worked alongside the infamous Batman, each different from the other and that there were many other vigilantes who are all in some way connected to Batman.  
It had been strange to think of adults who weld the kind of power they have to better their city and not ruin it. Over the years, Marinette had come to think of superpowered adults - or at least adults in power - as menacing and working to undermine and defeat her and her team. It was a strange concept that she was still trying to grasp.

  
Marinette continued thinking about Gotham's vigilantes while she flipped through her sketchbook, looking for a distraction. Once they'd gotten back to the hotel, Lila had accused her of hiring that drunken pisshead to attack them and scare them. Despite having no evidence or even a good motive to pin on her, everyone believed her. According to Lila, she wanted to rub it in all their faces how defenseless and worthless they'd be without her and her little minion. Ms.Mendeleiev and Ms.Bustier had gone to call the parents and school to inform them of what had happened and couldn't interfere on her behalf. Not like they would anyway, Ms.Bustier had ignored all their conflicts in favor of 'Letting them work things out on their own! They need to learn problem-solving skills!'. It saddened Marinette how little her homeroom teacher actually cared about her class and the clearly toxic relationships within it.

  
"Marinette! Kagami and Luka are on the phone!" Chloe said with a grin as she plopped down next to Marinette, who was laying on her bed and adjusted herself to sit cross-legged next to her and leaned the phone against one of Marinette's unused pillows so they could both be easily seen.

  
Marinette grinned, noticing Luka and Kagami's concerned faces on the glowing screen of Chloe's obnoxiously bright yellow phone, "Hey guys! How has it been without Chlo and I? Done anything stupid yet?"

  
"We couldn't even if we wanted to," the pixelated version of Kagami piped up, voice completely emotionless though her honey eyes were filled with warmth, "You took all the stupidity with you to America."

  
Chloe and Marinette let out twin gasps, feigning offense and betrayal. Marinette pouted and let out a hurt little noise while Chloe very nearly slammed her hand over her heart with the most over the top cry to utmost betrayal. Kagami broke into a smile and Luka chuckled at their antics. It was nice to talk to her real friends after a long day of dealing with her classmates.

  
She let their conversation fade into background noise as she flipped through her sketchbook, settled on a design and began to gather the materials required for it that she had with her and making a mental checklist of the things she'd need to buy. Long, Sass, Tikki, and Pollen all hovered near their Chosens, occasionally chiming in to the human's conversation while also having one of their own in a language no human ear could understand. Tikki had said that it was the language of the kwami, one only they could speak and that she had missed it. Marinette didn't complain whenever they had a conversation in that language. She knew how much the kwami of creation missed her friends and she wasn't about to deprive the tiny goddess of this.  
Marinette slowly fell asleep to the sounds of her friends surrounding her. For the first time in her life, she didn't dream of anything at all.


	7. Chapter 6

Damian Wayne wasn't happy. Now, that wasn't to say he was usually happy, but right now he was further from the emotion of 'Happiness' than he normally is. He spent all his time after getting back from patrol researching Paris.

  
There was something strange going on with that damn city, that much he had known even before he met this tourist group. The League had been receiving countless messages from civilians, trying to get them to help them with magic butterflies that possessed people and made them into villains but whenever they had investigated, they found absolutely no proof that this was actually real. All of the supposed damage done during an 'attack' was just miraculously didn't exist anymore and supposed victims had no recollection of any of the events. The Justice League had written it off as a joke started by some bored kid trying to pull an elaborate prank after the tenth message that was nearly identical to all the previous ones.

  
The only supposed and cohesive-looking source of information focusing on what was happening in Paris was the Ladyblog, which did not only have an idiotic name in his opinion but sounded like complete and utter garbage. Damian had read some of the first few posts and he was less than satisfied with the information he learned - or lack thereof. The blog had very little actual evidence and cited no sources, reading more like some trashy superhero/high fantasy novel you could only buy at the local drugstore. To put it lightly, Damian had many doubts about the Ladyblog and absolutely refused to use it as the only source of information about whatever the hell is going on in Paris, but all the news articles about the subject were vague and unclear. He found an interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir, but it was over a year old and made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It was mostly about the two heroes seriously overcomplicated love lives, which made it even more aggravating.

  
Damian turned slightly in his desk chair, pulling up a different tab where he was running background checks on all members of the French class he had encountered early that night. A few things had immediately jumped out at him, like how one Alya Cesaire was the author of the Ladyblog as well as a member of the class and how a lot to the class made appearances on the Ladyblog. All members of Ms.Caline Bustier's class and even the teacher got some strange nicknames on the Ladyblog, that somehow corresponded with what their 'akumatized powers' were. Another interesting person in the class was Max Kante, the developer of an app called 'Akuma Alert' that was extremely popular in Paris though the description of what it did was vague at best and not very useful to his research. Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of Paris's mayor and queen of fashion, Audrey Bourgeois herself, was also a part of the class as was Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste, famous designer and style influencer all over France, who were the only interesting because Chloe had been 'akumatized' twice and Adrien, along with Marinette Dupain-Cheng have never even come close to being 'akumatized'.

  
Damian opened a video file and pressed play.

  
The video that played was from his point of view, as the small camera in his mask recorded the footage and he had to turn it on the night vision so they could see everything but the video explained it much better than he could. Looking back, things happened much faster than he thought they did and the two Parisians moved with much more grace and practice than he had seen in the alley's low light.

  
Damian watched with mild fascination as the video played over and over again, the footage getting automatically slowed down by the computer each time it was played through. He made sure to mentally take note of anything important that he hadn't noticed before.

  
They didn't say a word to each other. They did this multiple times before if what the blonde said is true. Paris apparently has a lot more problems than they'd originally thought but he wasn't sure what kind. Chloe and Marinette had eluded to the fact that there are a lot of criminals there, which would explain their reaction to the muggers but most of their class cowered like idiots and the red haired teacher was useless. But Paris hasn't reported an increase in criminal activity. In fact, crime rates have been dropping for the past four years. The older woman at least tried to calm the class and she had done it with practiced ease like it was something she'd had to often. Whatever is going on in Paris is affecting them all differently. He just doesn't know why those two reacted so differently to the situation.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/

"So what are we going to be doing today Mari?" Chloe asked as they wandered into a small cafe in Gotham’s business district, searching for breakfast.

  
They had left the hotel much sooner than they knew the others would even be awake to ensure that they weren’t harassed. They didn’t inform either Ms.Bustier nor Ms.Mendeleiev of their departure because they knew neither teacher would notice. No one had noticed them going missing during Akuma attacks, why would now be different after all?

  
Being superheroes who went on nightly patrols had the lovely side effect of ensuring that they could function perfectly well on only an hour of sleep and a triple shot coffee. And since they didn’t trust any of the hole-in-the-wall places around their hotel, or even their hotel’s buffet, they made their way into Gotham proper before even considering entering a bakery or cafe. Another good thing about being a superhero was that the rose-tinted glasses that blinded all others their age to the real world and its dangers were pretty effectively ripped off their faces and crushed under heel so they could see the warning signs from kilometers away.

  
“Well, I was thinking about going to a park and people watching. Ya know, for inspiration. And I was thinking that maybe you could go and shop in the fashion district. Gotham fashion is really different from Parisian or even French in general and you’d really stand out in some American outfits back home.” Chloe arched a perfectly plucked brow at Marinette’s description of their day, noticing one thing about the bluenette’s plans right off the bat.

  
“You’re so bored of me already that you specifically planned your day to avoid me. Oh, the betrayal!” Chloe dramatically put a hand onto the butter-yellow fabric covering her heart, a mock hurt expression making its way onto her features.

  
Marinette huffed annoyedly, crossing her over the Jagged Stone logging decorating her navy blue shirt, “Sometimes I really think Drama Queen would have been a better alias for you.”  
Chloe tried to keep up the hurt act but she broke extremely quickly. The blonde broke down in a giggling fit so intense that Marinette had to physically shove her to move them closer to the cashier, “Come on Chlo!” the bluenette’s voice was low as her steel-blue eyes darted nervously around the cafe, trying to see if anyone was paying them any attention. No one was, but Marinette was still a very cautious person, partially because of her hero identity and partially because calling attention to herself usually meant Lila and Lila meant torment and pain and tears.  
Chloe had become extremely talented at reading the young designer over their year long friendship and immediately stopped laughing in order to help her friend whose breathing was becoming labored far too quickly for her liking. Chloe put one hand on Marinette's shoulder to ground her and tilted the bluenette's chin up so that steel-blue eyes met azure. The blonde took one of Marinette's hands in her own and rested it against her own collarbone.

  
"Marinette look at me. It's fine. It's me, Chloe. We are in a small cafe in Gotham City's business district. Lila is still in that crappy little hotel near Crime Alley and no one knows we're here. No one will hurt you." Chloe murmured to Marinette, slowing her breathing and repeating the words until her best friend's breathing started to even out and she no longer looked like she was about to have a full-blown panic attack.

  
In all honesty, it scared Chloe a little how proficient she was at calming Marinette - the sweetest, most helpful and selfless person on the whole Earth who absolutely did not deserve this! - down and bringing her back from the edge of an attack. She had witnessed some of Marinette's attacks before they had become friends after Lila had come back. No one else in their class seemed to have the intelligence to notice how physiologically abusive they were toward their wonderful class rep and even back then, Chloe had wanted to rip into each and every one of their classmates for hurting her like that. Sure, they might have had some childish rivalry going on at the time but even she didn't want to see sweet Marinette a trembling, tearful mess.  
"Thanks, Chloe," Marinette whispered, looking down at the ground and fidgeting with the ends of the dark blue and white dotted scarf she had used to tie her hair out of her face.  
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm just getting you back for the last time." Chloe attempted to joke but it fell flat even to her own ears. She was, of course, referring to the time that Ladybug had pulled Queen Bee aside in the middle of fighting her akumatized father (he had been akumatized for the fifth time that month at the time) and stayed with her until she was able to rejoin the fight even though she was needed.

  
After the fight, Marinette had invited Chloe, Kagami, and Luka over for the night and they had talked and ate and cried together into the wee hours of the morning. It had become a sort of bi-weekly therapy session where they talked about pressures they experience both in and out of the mask, shared coping methods and became closer as a team overall. Everyone looked forward to it and at this point, their parent's just went with it. They all knew their children needed it and they still weren't sure why, but they were all happy that their children now had such a close group of friends.

  
Marinette smiled at Chloe in that way. That's another thing that their little group knew. If one of them smiled at any of that way, they were never being condescending. It was their way of telling one another that they knew and understood. That smile was sometimes all they needed to empower and cheer each other up. That smile meant so much more than any of them could even attempt to put into words.

  
Even Luka was at a loose about turning it into a song. That had become a private joke too. Luka had never been stumped like that before and it made them feel even more special because they understood each other so well that even the boy who could hear someone's heart song couldn't create a melody that fit how they managed to help each other.  
"Next!" the bored voice of the barista jolted them into action as they stepped up to order some coffee and food.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/

  
The science teacher of Collège Françoise Dupont was understandably mad. She had been kept up most of the night by angry parents and guardians, yelling at her for something she could have neither predicted or prevented and jet lag on top of that was reasonably ensuring that she was not in a good mood, to begin with.

  
But when she finally managed to drag herself out of bed to join Caline's class down in the hotel's 'dining room' - a term she used only because that was it's function not because it accurately described the room -for breakfast and found two students missing, she was worried. A brief conversation with the hotel's receptionist later, she'd learned that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chloe Bourgeois had left the hotel almost two hours ago and haven't been back since. That was the point where Ms.Mendeleiev started becoming annoyed and the conversation that followed put the horrid exchange of words that did not deserve the title of 'conversation' with the receptionist seem like a sunny holiday to Corsica.

  
"Oh, don't worry about them!" Caline Bustier had actually seemed relieved when the science teacher told her that Ms.Dupain-Cheng and Ms.Bourgeois had left the hotel without telling anyone, "They disappear a lot nowadays and they're always fine."

  
Then, as if sharing some of the latest schoolyard gossips, Caline leaned forward, dropping her voice and looking around cautiously, "I'm actually a little relieved they left so early. They cause so much trouble for the class. Everyone gets so worked up and aggressive around them, it's really quite sad. I've told Marinette many times to not let herself be provoked by them but she never listens."

  
Ms.Mendeleiev couldn't believe her ears. Caline Bustier acknowledged that something was extremely wrong with her class but she refused to do anything about it beyond telling the one student who has always been known to put other's needs before her own, who spent painstakingly long hours preparing the perfect gifts for everyone around her, who drove herself to a near burnout so that her classmates can have the best of everything to behave better. To take the bullying laying down, to basically 'set an example for her class' and hope that instead of taking advantage of her good nature, realize their mistakes and become perfect little angels without any outside - authoritarian - intervention.

Mendeleiev was floored.

Stunned.

Absolutely speechless.

She was already sick to her stomach when Caline leaned back with a content sigh and said: "Maybe today will be a quiet day." Now Mendeleiev felt actual bile rise in her throat.

This was all so much worse than she could have ever imagined.


	8. Chapter 7

It took a lot of convincing and promises to meet up for lunch but Marinette managed to get Chloe to agree to part ways. She understood why the blonde was so hesitant to leave her alone in a strange city, especially after what happened last night and her episode in the cafe, but she needed some space after attacks and Chloe knew it. So, in the end, Chloe had let her head off while she looked up the locations of some of the most expensive boutiques in Gotham.

Marinette was proud of her friend for cutting back on her snobbish, entitled brat persona but it didn’t take long for her to realize that the blonde’s expensive taste in everything was not a part of that persona. That was a part of even the Chloe that was buried deep deep within all of her walls and personas.

  
Marinette couldn’t really complain. The blonde still loved the gifts the bluenette gave her, even though they were made of the cheapest but still best quality materials she could find, Chloe had gone as far as to say that her work was even better than her mother’s. It had made Marinette’s day.

  
So now she sat on a wooden bench in one of the most popular parks in the entire city. It wasn’t lively or very green like the one next to her home in Paris but even still it provided a nice view of the city around her and had some actually comfortable seating. She also had her sketchbook open in her lap, notes scattered in the margins as she continued to look around for further inspiration.

  
A few vague ideas had already started forming in her mind but nothing solid that she could actually put on paper yet. There was so much around her and the environment was so wonderfully new that she knew the basics of what she wanted but not the details and beauty was in the details.

  
So the aspiring designer continued to take in her surroundings while constructing and deconstructing outfits and clothing and sketches in her mind. All the designs were good but not what she wanted. So into the margins, the keywords went for later expansion but she hadn’t even thought to sketch any of them out. They weren’t right.

  
A sudden bark broke the bluenette out of her musings, closely followed by paws pressed against the dark fabric of her ripped jeans and a wet tongue dragging its way up her cheek.  
Marinette, ever the animal lover, was able to recognize the Great Dane once she managed to get it far enough away from her face to see the great beast clearly. It was a big dog, obviously healthy and happy - the dog barked again - and vocal, it seems.

  
“Well hello to you too!” The petite designer greeted enthusiastically, running her hands over the large dog’s fur, “Where’s your human?”

  
The Great Dane just lifted his paws off of her thighs and sat down on the smooth concrete and stared at her, mouth open, tongue lolling out and eyes filled with excitement. Marinette could feel her heart literally melt right out of her as she quickly stashed her sketchbook in her navy blue backpack and slide down to the ground to be eye level with the canine. She started scratching him behind the ears, eyes straying to his collar. Engraved into a small bronze plaque hanging off of a pretty red collar was the name ‘Titus’.

  
“Bonjour Titus, je m'appelle Marinette!”The French designer greeted the dog, noting that he didn’t have a lease. So his owner was somewhere in the park, likely looking for their dog who’d run off without a warning, “How about we find your human?”

  
The Great Dane wagged his tail and barked in affirmation, standing up onto all four legs. Marinette followed suit, shouldering her backpack and dusting off her jeans. The dog was nearly as tall as she was, the tips of his ears coming to just below her chest. Titius was most certainly a big dog and could do some damage if he wanted to and considering that his owner likely lived it, Gotham, it was a good choice to have an attack dog and he appeared like the well trained, obedient type too. Even if said dog seemed to have a tendency to wander off on his own.

  
Lost in her observations, Marinette didn’t notice Titus let out an excited bark and wag his tail. She did, however, notice the dog beginning to run, with her still holding onto his collar. The bluenette let out a surprised shout as she began to run, trying to keep up with the hound and despite her years as Ladybug, it was extremely hard to keep up with the Great Dane.

  
“Slow down!” The French teenager reverted to her native tongue, more comfortable with it than English no matter how good she was getting at her third language.

  
The dog, who most likely did not understand French - though Marinette had a feeling that the canine was much smarter than the average dog - disregarded the bluenette and kept dragging her along. Multiple people turned to watch the small girl get dragged across the park, several children letting out sounds of delight as they passed. Marinette was not sure how to feel about that but it felt like she the stick in a game of fetch this rascal of a dog was playing without his owner’s knowledge. It was most certainly strange either way.

  
“Titus!” A masculine voice called out just as Marinette felt her worldview title forward, her face and hands getting pressed against someone’s chest and heard someone cry out and Titus barking loudly and excitedly.

The damn dog had come to a sudden stop and launched Marinette straight into the arms of his presumed owner!

“Je Suis très désolé!” Marinette stuttered as she looked up at Titus’ owner, hands gripped the light grey fabric over his - admittedly very toned - chest.

  
She could have sworn she stopped breathing for a moment. Looking down at her with the prettiest emerald green eyes she’d ever seen in her life, framed by long, dark lashes was a boy about her age. His angular face was overshadowed curly void-black hair that fell just right near his forehead. He most definitely combed it back but didn’t use gel because some strands feel over his forehead.

  
"Oh um.." Even when he was nervous, he sounded charming. And a little familiar, which was strange but at the moment Marinette's mind was a little too occupied with thinking about how handsome this stranger was. "Parlez-Vous Anglais Mademoiselle?"

  
"Oui!" Marinette answered reflexively, nodding her head enthusiastically, "Oh, um right! Yes, I speak the eng...Yes, I speak English!"

  
A small smile made its way onto his lips, and suddenly Marinette was very aware of just how close the two of them were and the fact that his arms were around her waist and she was still holding onto the fabric of his shirt, "Great! I speak French but not very well, I have to admit."

  
"That is fine! I have to practice English anyways."Marinette mumbled a grin slowly making its way onto her lips. It had been so long since someone other than Luka, Chloe or Kagami made her smile genuinely that she instantly wanted to spend more time with this person.

  
"I'm sorry about my dog." At that, he turned his head slightly to glare at said Great Dane who was watching the two of them with a great deal of amusement and excitement, "I know he tends to wander off but I admittedly didn't expect him to find him with a beautiful stranger such as yourself."

  
Marinette was sure her face was redder than Nathaniel's hair right about now but she couldn't stop grinning. This young man was simply charming and most certainly had a way with words.  
"I'm... I'm just happy that I could get him back to you. He is most certainly a lovely dog!" Marinette spoke rapidly, not wanting to offend this polite noiret, "But I do not think my Maman and Papa would take kindly to me returning home with a Great Dane."

  
She could feel his chest move under her hands with silent laughter, his emerald eyes alight with humor and she couldn't help a little giggle of her own. She closed her eyes and let her head drop a little, forehead nearly resting against his muscular chest.

  
"I'm glad you returned him to me. Not many people would have done that here in Gotham." There was something dark in his eyes at that moment but it was gone in a flash, "Would you like to play with him for a little while?"

  
A small smile was playing at the corners of his lips again and Marinette couldn't help the little feeling of specialness at the sight of it. She had a suspicion that this boy didn't smile much and it made her feel something peculiar that she couldn't name, being able to get him to both smile and laugh so soon after meeting him.

  
"I'd be happy to!" the bluenette looked back up at him and grinned, feeling her blush recede but that special feeling was still brewing and bubbling in the pits of her stomach.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/

  
Damian couldn't believe his luck as he watched Marinette - he had loved how she said it with that slight accent of her's - play fetch with Titus.

  
Today she didn't look like a soft, harmless little thing like she had last night but she didn't look any less like an angel. In her oversized navy blue shirt with Jagged Stone's log, torn black jeans and spotted dark blue bandana she should have looked like a punk, hard rock girl but her blue-black beach waved hair, round cheeks, and wide eyes offset the look. She still looked amazing - he doubted she could ever look anything but amazing but that's beside the point - and absolutely... absolutely... there were just no words to describe the french girl!

  
She was what she was and that was amazing and gorgeous and kind and all that was good in the world. And he had to admit when he had caught her in his arms and she had looked up at him with those wide steel blue eyes... He felt his heart taw a little at the adorable expression that took over her face. Blushing cheeks and pink lips forming a surprised 'O' had never looked so cute.  
"Damian! Look!" Marinette's excited words caught his attention immediately and he uncrossed his arms, walking over to join the angel and his dog further into the open field.

  
The bluenette was holding a thick stick that Titus had likely found for them to play with and said dog was dangling almost a foot off the ground, jaw determinedly still clasped around the saliva-slick stick. Damian felt his eyes widen and a weird mixture of amusement and intrigue course through his body.

  
He had seen how tactical Marinette could be last night as Robin but he hadn't seen just how strong she was. Her easy manipulation of the crooks arm had been attributed to the advantage of surprise and his state of intoxication but now he had no doubt that the bluenette could have taken the gunman down when he was in the prime of his life. Now with her short-sleeved t-shirt, he could also see just how much muscle definition the petite Parisian had and he had to say, he was impressed. She was almost as muscular as he was.

  
Damian raised an eyebrow at Marinette and smiled toothily. He couldn't remember the last time he had done that, "Impressive."

  
The bluenette beamed at the slightest of praise, he noticed but she was also wary like she was waiting for him to take it back or add on 'but...'. He didn't know why but he wanted to understand why she reacted like that and break that habit of her's. Than hurt whoever had caused that to be her instinctive response. That last urge was much stronger than he would care to admit out loud.

  
"Thank you." Marinette sounded so happy and he was smiling more now and she was positively grinning and dear lord, this was ridiculous and now they were stuck in a weird cycle of smiling at each other and blushing but he couldn't stop himself.

  
Damian found himself chuckling a little as Titus finally gave up and let go of the stick, dropping to the ground with a haughty snort. Marinette looked down at the black dog and threw the stick again for him to fetch. The Great Dane happily bound off, tail wagging as he chased the stick.

  
Before the Wayne could stop himself, he blurted out, "Can I show you around the city?"

  
"Hm?" Marinette looked back at him, having watched Titus fetch the stick before he had spoken than broke into an excited grin, "I would love that very much! Thank you!"  
Damian couldn't find it in himself to correct her and simply smiled, already looking forward to the rest to their day.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/

  
The three of them spent the rest of their day wandering around the city, visiting some tourist spots and some lesser-known locations that Damian thought Marinette would like. And he had been right. She loved all of them.

  
She had especially liked the Wayne Botanical Gardens and Damian had conveniently forgotten to mention that the main reasons it was built was to appease Poison Ivy, a sort of eco-activist that also dabbled in super-villainy quite heavily.

  
They had also gone to see the Wayne Enterprises building, which they had stood outside of for nearly an hour while Marinette sketched and jotted down notes for her designs. Damian, who would have usually found standing still in a crowded street for 58 minutes (yes he counted) boring and annoying, found that it was far more tolerable when he was able to watch Marinette work. She had the most adorable thinking expression he'd ever seen.

  
By the time they'd stopped for lunch at a small restaurant that he and his family visited often during their nightly patrols, they were much better acquainted but still sorta-strangers and yet they conversation flowed between as smoothly as it could have if they'd known each other for years and were just catching up after a year or so apart.  
In all honesty, it startled and scared Damian how quickly this petite french girl had wriggled her way into his good graces but he didn't feel the particular need to look this gift horse in the mouth. Dick was always on his case about making more friends anyway. Maybe this - she - would appease him. He had the distinct feeling that his family would approve greatly of this Parisian.

  
He had known for a fact that she was a tough one, cool under pressure and a skilled strategist. And now he was also sure that she was kind to everyone unless they gave her a good reason not to be, helped those in need without question was one of the most bright people he had ever met despite how dimmed she seemed.

  
When he had seen her again today, he had hoped that that darkness in her eyes and the dimness about her that he had seen yesterday were a result of getting attacked by an armed man but they most definitely weren't. Whenever her classmates or school came up she seemed to curl into herself, eyes narrowing and darting around whatever place they were in, fear evident in them. It took every drop of Damian's willpower to not A.Demand answers as to why she got so scared when talking about anything related to her school or B.Buy a ticket to Paris and give her school's administration a piece of his mind. So instead of making things harder for both of them, he made sure to avoid the subject as best as he could and steered them towards fashion, Marinette's process, his own pets, Gotham and Paris and the superhero/vigilante situation in both of said cities.

  
Marinette didn't really talk much about Paris and what was happening over there but she did become rather salty whenever the Justice League was brought up. Damian had asked her about her reaction and she had said that many Parisians had sent them messages pleading for aid but they were never answered. That set Damian on the path to believing some of the things said in the messages. He had quickly learned that the bluenette wasn't the type to joke about serious issues or be involved in such largescale, idiotic pranks and for some reason, he was disappointed in himself for not taking those Parisians' desperate cry for help seriously. After Marinette's frustrated rant, he had steered clear of mentioning the Justice League.

  
By the time they realized that they should probably get back home or in Marinette's case back to her hotel, the sun had already set and they were both exhausted after a long day of sightseeing.

  
"Thank you for showing me the city Damian." Marinette smiled sweetly at him as they stood outside of her hotel room.

  
Damian couldn't help the smile on his own face and the slight blush on his own cheeks, "I'm just glad to have had the chance to spend the day with you, Angel."

  
Marinette's cheeks flushed at the nickname but she just smiled wider, "Bon Nuit Damian. I hope we meet again."

  
"So do I." Damian agreed, bobbing his head automatically. He felt something in his chest flutter at the prospect of seeing this Angel on Earth again.

  
Marinette opened her room and stepped inside, pausing and turning around at the last moment. Damian was about to ask her if something was wrong when she leaned toward him, on her tiptoes, and pressed a small kiss to his cheek.

  
"Thank you for the wonderful day, Damian." She smiled at him one last time, cheeks flushed the color of overripe cheers as she ducked inside and closed the door behind her.

  
Damian lifted a hand to his cheek and felt his lips stretch into a dumbstruck smile that he usually thought below him but couldn't really care about at the moment. He really really hoped they would meet again.

  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/

  
"Soo~ Who was that?" Chloe asked as soon as Marinette closed the door to their room.

The blonde was sitting cross legged on her bed, a peel-off mask on her face and nail-polish brush in hand. Pollen was floating near Chloe's feet, also holding a nail-polish brush and painting her Chosen's toenails. Chloe's wicked blue eyes were alight with interest and intrigue and Marinette immediately knew that she couldn't get out of this one without an extremely thorough interrogation.

"A boy I meet at the park today." the bluenette said as she collapsed onto her bed, dead tired.

"Oh!~ A boy! Could our little Marinette have a crush on someone!" Chloe asked excitedly, nearly ready to leap from her own bed over to Marinette's, demanding more details when she noticed that her designer friend had already fallen asleep. The blonde's smile turned wistful as she let her friend rest, knowing how much Marinette need some good sleep.


	9. Chapter 8

As lost in thought as he was, Damian hadn’t remembered to wipe that dumb smile off his face and wandered through the streets of Gotham with a smile so permanent it could have been mistaken for one caused by Joker Gas. A single smile had gained a very strange result when he finally got home.

  
Who knew all it took to confuse his family was a lovestruck smile and not acknowledging them?

  
Although, Tim and Jason had given him anti- Joker Gas in all the forms that they had available - which was a lot of variations and in all different ways of ingestion. They were apparently convinced that he had somehow been affected by it.  
  
Tim was pretty sure it was a weaker one since his demonic little brother was laughing like a madman. No, that he thought about it, maybe Demon Spawn had had a brief run-in with Poison Ivy…  
  
Further research is required  
  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/  
  
"Wake up!" Three small voices chorused from somewhere in their room, followed by the clang of something very heavy landing on the crappy, worn through carpet of their hotel room.  
Marinette bolted straight up in bed, ready to leap into action should it be necessary. She vaguely acknowledged Chloe doing the same in her own small and extremely uncomfortable bed. Their time as superheroes who had to be ready at a moments notice to defend the population of Paris had made them somewhat lighter sleepers but maybe it was the jetlag was finally catching up or the fact that they could finally have an evening full of actual rest without having to wake up in the middle of the night because of some murderous Akuma but they were definitely harder to wake up than usual nowadays.  
  
Three distinctly colored kwamis were already darting around the room, completely disregarding the lamp they had pushed off the young women's shared night table to wake them up and gathering everything they'd be needing for the day. Tikki was preparing their toothbrushes and cosmetics while Pollen made sure that their chosen outfits were laid out and easy to grab and Klaaki made it a point to put everything they'd need into their bags, making sure everything was in place and nothing important was left behind as well as locking their luggage up tightly. None of them trusted the shady hotel's staff not to go snooping through their things while they weren't there.  
  
The Miraculous users were immensely grateful for the help, darting out of bed and quickly making their way through their morning routines. Marinette and Chloe had become very good at communicating non verbally, whether it be using gestures, make signs, using their eyes or simply reading each other's moods and it was an extremely useful skill to master. Marinette, Kagami, Luka, and Chloe were possibly the most well-oiled superhero team out there due to their close proximity and the extremely high stakes of their job. It was sad to think about why they were so good at working together - the simplest of gestures could mean the difference between life and death - but they didn't want to develop on the depressing implications anyway.  
  
"Chlo, have you seen my phone?" Marinette called from the bathroom, leaning her head out with her toothbrush caught between her teeth. Chloe was currently trying to get her hair to behave, but nothing seemed to work. Having cut her hair much shorter - it didn't even touch her shoulders - and she had bangs that almost obscured her eyes, so now she couldn't tie it up in that high ponytail she used to wear so much and was forced to get creative. Usually, she let it hang loose and frame her face but sometimes, like today, she pulled back some of it and tied it into some elaborate knot that Marinette could never hope to recreate, which unfortunately meant that she was taking much longer to get ready.  
  
"No." was the blonde's distracted answer as she carefully examined herself in the mirror. She let out a pleased noise at the state of her hair and went about getting dressed, which unsurprisingly took about half the time she spent on her hair thanks to Pollen's excellent choice of a simple black and white floral print pencil skirt, canary yellow flats, white blouse, and butter yellow zippered blazer. In Marinette's expert opinion, the outfit soothed her quite well. Thank Kwami she managed to convince her to give up her blue eyeshadow! That kind of makeup should be left in early childhood, thank you very much!  
  
She herself was already dressed in her Pollen picked outfit, one that was a very good choice in her opinion - she was so glad she talked to the Bee kwami so often. The deep navy blue cardigan that hung slightly off her shoulders was incredibly comfortable - and could be used to give herself sweater paws, an incredibly important detail -the black legs that hugged her legs allowed for so much movement that she never wanted to take them off and the floral print fuschia and baby pink crop top was an item of clothing she would forever thank herself for. And while tying the laces of her pink ballet slippers might have been somewhat of a challenge and a long process, well no one outside this room had to know. Her hair was loose, held out of her face by a pale pink headband and the small yellow and black Kwami had dusted a little rose gold blush onto her cheeks and some shimmery pink eyeshadow onto her eyelids, even going as far as to give her a small winged eyeliner look!  
  
Marinette was 100% sure that without their Kwami's, both Chloe and she herself would be complete disasters and never get anywhere on time.  
"I put your phone in your bag Marinette!" Tikki reassured her chosen as the bluenette rinsed her mouth.  
  
Marinette dabbed her face clean and said: “Thank you Tikki.” Unfortunately, the statement was muffled by the towel but the Kwami of Creation understood the sentiment nonetheless. They had been together long enough to understand each other even if their sentiments weren’t voiced, but they both like to verbally communicate regardless, enjoying the activity in all its forms.  
  
“Come on Nette!” Chloé called from the doorway of their hotel room, Pollen already tucked into her black and yellow flower-shaped purse, “The bus is about to leave!”  
“Be right there!” Marinette called back, opening her navy blue, patch decorated and hand-embroidered backpack for Tikki and Kaalki. The two Kwamis quickly situated themselves, allowing the bluenette to close the bag and throw it over her shoulder.  
  
She exited the small hotel room, closing the door securely behind herself and ran over her blonde companion. Said blonde was already in the elevator, holding the doors open with a perfectly manicured hand and amused expression. She knew how time-consciousness-less her teammate was and it always amused her to no end, especially coupled with her clumsiness and desire for perfection.  
  
“Took you long enough.” Chloe teased as the elevator doors closed behind the bluenette.  
Marinette sent a playful glare her way, turning to face the doors as they waited for the out of date thing to take them to the ground floor.  
  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/  
  
They had left them behind! Those degenerates had left them at the hotel! How could they?! This is Gotham City! They were right next to Crime Alley and those idiots left them behind!  
Chloe was still fuming when they got to the cafe they had visited yesterday, there for the same purpose again. The hotel’s breakfast was still questionable at best and they were not willing to risk it. Nothing -and they mean nothing - is worth having food poisoning. The four of them ate out at a new little cafe once, back home in Paris and needless to say, they never even went close to it again, not even on patrol lest they collectively develop an incapacitating stomach ache. While the elegantly dressed blonde seethed, Marinette, clad in her comfy cardigan that helped fight   
off the early morning chill that still clung to the city at 7 am, lead the way through the city with the highest crime rate.  
  
Their bus was supposed to leave at 7:30 pm but of course, due to some circumstances - likely Lila coming up with another ridiculous lie that everyone gobbled right up, even Mlle. Bustier - they had moved the departure time ahead an hour. The rest of their class had been long gone by the time they woke up. And no one bothered to tell them, of course. Or Lila promised to and conveniently ‘forgot! It must be because of the concussion i got from saving (insert celebrity)’s (insert S/O, pet, friend)!’. How pathetic. Marinette, of course, didn’t vocalize that thought but she knew that that thought was true. Her classmates were sheep for slaughter and the worst part was that they willingly went with their butcher.  
  
Reflecting on their situation, it was all so typical of their classmates and Mlle. Bustier that Marinette didn’t bother to get angry anymore. Chloe, however, enjoyed the activity of pouting and promising revenge upon her - and their - enemies and Marinette had learned long ago not to try and dissuade her. It usually made the blonde angry, viewing Marinette’s kindness as purity incarnate and a good thing but wishing to condemn their classmates to an eternity in a Hell of her own making for taking advantage of said kindness. The sentiment warmed Marinette’s heart, even if she didn’t agree with the method(s) Chloe would likely employ.  
  
It being a Monday morning in Gotham’s business district, the cafe they decided to have breakfast in was packed to the brim, even more than yesterday, with businessmen and women in suits and business attire of all shapes, sizes, and colors, though they tended towards dark and monochromatic with slight bright accents. Marinette people watched while sketching idly, fascinated by how Gothamite and American business attire differed from French while Chloe nursed a very large mug of coffee that told the bluenette just what kind of they were going to have. Chloe’s moods and daily outlooks could be predicted by what she drank in the morning and how much of it. Tea meant it was going to be a nice, easy day. A small amount of coffee meant she that all she wanted to do all day was nap and eat sweets. A large coffee meant that she was going to wreak havoc at anyone who pissed her off even in the slightest. Kagami was the only one who could handle Chloe without anyone else’s when she went into Large-Coffee mode, while even with Luka and Marinette’s combined efforts the best they could do was bring her down to Small-Coffee level and considering the other half of their quartets status on the other side of the Atlantic, there was an extremely small chance that this was going to go well for anyone involved.  
The best she could hope for is avoiding their classmates as much as they could and making sure tomorrow was Tea-day.  
  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/  
  
Esmee Mendeleiev was exhausted, angry, sick to the stomach and absolutely miserable. It was only the third day of their trip and yet the universe decided that it was time to throw common sense out the window and replace it with chaos and misery. Ever since they landed, she had only gotten four hours of sleep, had to compose some very serious emails, face a lot of hard truths, figure out how to not get herself fired, how to get Caline fired and punished for her actions and find out just how deep the rabbit hole that was Caline Bustier’s homeroom class went. She was about ready to collapse into bed and sleep the rest of their trip away when it was announced that they would be heading out early for their tour of Wayne Enterprises.  
  
Needless to say, in her sleep-deprived delirium, she wasn’t the most useful to anyone, especially when it came to the headcount they were supposed to do daily. She could barely see straight, even with her glass and the only coherent thought she could form was ‘COFFEE!’ even though her instincts absolutely hated the idea of leaving the younger teacher in charge of their group. And once again, her instincts were proven right when they had gotten to the Wayne Enterprises building and she had finally managed to reintroduce the wonderful concoction of coffee to her system.  
  
Not one but two students were missing from their class. Not one. Two. One would have been bad enough on its own but two, the same two who had gone off without permission yesterday and Caline hadn’t even noticed the absence of till she pointed it out were missing again. The same two that Esmee was determined to keep an eye on and help to the best of her abilities.  
She felt absolutely horrid, realizing how… how… irresponsibly she was acting. She was disappointed in herself but dear God, she could not prepare herself enough for talking to Caline about this new/old situation. How could they let this happen?! She was disappointed to say that she wasn’t surprised that Caline forgot about the two girls, not after yesterday, but how could she allow herself to forget about them, even in her sleep-deprived state?  
  
So instead of talking to Caline, Esmee Menedeleiv sought out their tour guide, one Mr.Grayson, to inform him of a slight delay with their plans. Mr.Grayson, thank God, didn’t brush her aside like Caline would have and agreed to delay their tour until they could locate their missing students. Unfortunately, Mlle. Bustier and her class didn’t seem to think that two students missing from their group in one of the most dangerous cities in the world was something to be concerned about.  
  
“Ugh, they are so doing this for attention!” Lila Rossi’s voice, as always, was the first to be heard, louder than all the rest. Soon everyone was murmuring and grumbling, eyes hard and dark as the class discussed the two young women’s latest scheme to gain attention. Esmee was too horrified to actually intertwine and decided to ask for the security footage or at least a copy of it before they left, just to see if there was anything she missed in her sick-to-the-stomach sputter.  
  
“We just missed the bus actually.” The voice of one Chloe Bourgeois echoed through the reception of Wayne Enterprises.  
  
Everyone’s head turned to the direction of which the voice came and everyone stared bug-eyed at the sight before them. Standing there, in the front receiving hall of Wayne Enterprises, were Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chloe Bourgeois, with a clearly delirious and semi-conscious man between. The two females were supporting the taller male like it was nothing to hold someone a good head and a half taller than them up, not even breaking a sweat as they approached the gathering of their classmates.  
  
“We are sorry we kept you waiting.” The blonde’s statement was so heavy with sarcasm that it was so so disappointing to see several of her classmates jump at her and Marinette’s throats as if it were a genuine apology.  
  
“You better be!” Alya nearly yelled, a snarl pulling at the edges of her lips, “We lost so much time because of you! What if we missed the Waynes huh? Lila can’t get me an exclusive interview with them if they aren’t here!”  
  
Chloe’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she nearly slipped her arm out from under the unconscious man when a chime went off on all their phones. A chime they all knew far too well, having heard it countless times before.  
  
It was the Akuma Alert. There was an Akuma in Paris.  
  
They had to get back, immediately. Paris needed Ladybug and Queen Bee. They most definitely didn't need another Stone Heart situation.  
  
While the rest of their class gathered around Max and his laptop so they could watch the fight on ‘the big screen’, Marinette and Chloe gently set Tim - the semi-conscious man who demanded they take him to Wayne Enterprises, where his family would supposedly take care of him - down on one of the couches, ready to slip away when a tall, dark-haired man with kind and worried blue eyes approached them. He opened his mouth to ask them something but Marinette interrupted before he got to say anything, eager to get to Paris and put an end to Hawkmoth’s latest scheme.  
  
“We are sorry we are late,” She said in rapid and English far more accented than it usually was but she couldn’t find it in herself to care about that at the moment, “our class left an hour earlier than scheduled and no one informed us of the change.” Then, remembering how strange it must have seemed to drag a nearly unconscious man into the lobby of Wayne Enterprises, she hastily added, “Tim asked us to bring him here before…” she scrunched up her nose, unsure how exactly to phrase this, “before… that… happened.”  
  
Chloe than promptly added, “I am sorry. We need to go.”  
  
She grabbed Marinette’s wrist and dragged her to the nearby bathrooms so they could transform and saw the day. Kwami, Marinette hoped this would go smoothly. She was not above begging for a timely return either.


	10. chapter 9

Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson volunteered to be the guide for the Parisian school field trip because he thought it would be fun and easy. He never expected this - or anything even remotely like this - to happen. He could honestly say that this was not fun nor easy. A hot mess is what this was. A flaming dumpster full of toxic chemicals and explosives is what this was. Well, he had actually dealt with something fitting that description and it wasn’t as much of a mess as this was so maybe that was an inaccurate way to describe his current situation but he really couldn’t think of any other way to phrase this.  
  
First off, they left two goddamn students behind at the hotel, which from his understanding was right NEXT TO CRIME ALLEY! -WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? THEY WERE OUT OF TOWNERS, THEY DON'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS GOTHAM CAN BE!!! - and they didn’t even notice that they were missing!  
  
First off, Dick would like to commend Ms.Mendeleiev, who looked like she would pass out any second, but not before breaking down into tears in the middle of a sentence - not unlike Tim on most days, if he was being perfectly honest but that was neither here nor there. She seemed genuinely concerned for the two missing students while the other one, Ms.Bustier, didn’t notice anything and seemed unconcerned that they had left two students behind. Second, Dick, as soon as he saw the two missing students drag his semi-conscious brother into the building, had an intense feeling of relief and gratitude wash over him. Tim had pulled another all nighter and disappeared by the morning and they had all been worried. At least this solved that.  
When he had tried to approach the two teens about what had happened, the bluenette quickly rambled off some excuses while the blonde watched impatiently. It wasn’t long before the blonde got fed up and dragged the other girl away, though to where he didn’t have time to wonder because the elevator chimed and Bruce stepped into the lobby.  
  
The older man quickly made his way over to his eldest, concern clear in his eyes for all those who knew him well enough to see, “What happened to Tim?”  
  
“Oh, you know, the usual.” Dick crossed his arms, voice nonchalant but posture rigid, “Pulled three all nighters in a row and went out for coffee, nearly passed out in public and got dragged here by two teenage girls.”  
  
Bruce raised an eyebrow, and opened his mouth, ready to inquire about that last part when the Parisian class let out a loud cheer. Glancing at them, the two Gothamites raised their eyebrows and turned around to approach them. Peeking over the huddled students’ shoulders they watched as a purple haired reporter on screen narrate what was happening behind her in French. Bruce understood what was being said and was astounded by what he heard.  
  
“Ladybug and Queen Bee just appeared on the scene of Paris’s latest akuma, The Director.” Nadja Chamack, the screen read, “A villain who takes control of anything and anyone caught in his beam. Citizens are advised to stay away from windows for the duration of this attack and to stay indoors until Ladybug has given us the all clear.”  
  
So there was an official protocol involved in this, Bruce noted. He noticed that there were no people on the scene other than Nadja, the camertuer, the heroes, the ‘akuma’ and the already controlled people as soon as the broadcast started and this explained why.  
  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/  
  
“What do we know?” Ladybug asked as she deflected another beam of light with her yoyo, eyes trained on their akuma while she waited for either Ryuko or Viperon to fill her and Queen Bee in on the details of what was happening.  
  
Ryuko was the one to respond, slipping behind Ladybug so she was protected too, “He calls himself The Director. He can control anyone he hits with his beam. Presumably an unjustly fired director for a popular TV show. Akuma in his megaphone gun.” Ryuko leapt away from Ladybug to tackle Viperon out of the way of a beam shot by the stereotypical French movie director looking Akuma.  
  
Ladybug nodded determinedly as she drew her yo-yo back and backflipped out of the way of another beam, landing  
  
“Maneuver 24, stinger style.” She called to her teammates, looking to Viperon for confirmation. The snake themed hero nodded to her, prompting her to give the signal for the rest of them to begin their plan.  
  
Ryuko raised her sword, calling out, “water dragon!” The Director turned towards her just as her body turned into liquid and splashed in his face and reform next to him. She struck out with her sword, temporarily engaging him in combat before leaping out of his reach.  
  
Ladybug took advantage of his temporary distraction and wrapped her yo-yo around the arm not holding the Akumatized megaphone and pulled with all her strength, drawing his attention to herself. He tried to free his arm, pulling with all his might but Ladybug held fast, not allowing her yo-yo to slip from her fingers and free him. The Akuma let out a frustrated shout, his controlled army beginning to descend on the spotted heroine at his command.  
  
Viperon stepped up next, throwing his harp at Director the same time that Queen Bee appeared be behind him, her magically charged spinning top in hand. The harp knocked the megaphone right out of the akuma’s hands and straight into Ladybug’s waiting hands. Before The Director could even move to recapture his akumatized item, Queen Bee had used her Venom to paralyze him on the spot, leaving the four of them free to deakumatize the victim and clear up any messes.  
  
Ryuko approached Ladybug, her sword sheathed and arms held out in anticipation of the other bluenette handing over the megaphone. Ladybug did so, summoning her lucky charm as soon as it was out of her hands. A small slip of paper fluttered into her hands a message scrawled on it in elegant script. A smile overcame the young Ladybug’s lips as she read the ‘well done’ in what she assumed was meant to be Tikki’s handwriting.  
  
“Ryuko.” That was all the dragon heroine needed, as she dropped the megaphone on the ground and stomped down on it, effectively snapping it in half and releasing the Akuma within.  
“Gotcha!” Ladybug cried, her yo-yo opened with a swipe of her hand and flying through the air with a flick of her wrist. The little black and purple butterfly was immediately caught in her healing light.  
  
For lips twisted into a small smiles as the Akuma flew away. Today was one of the easier and less dangerous days. Now to hope that no one was seriously traumatized. All the therapists they had asked to take care of Akuma victims were booked full for months and no one outside of Paris believed them enough to come and help out. Kwami, the situation was getting worse and worse by the day and they were running out of resources.  
  
“Miraculous Ladybug!” The spotted heroine tossed the piece of red and black paper into the air, where it burst into millions of glowing ladybugs that soared through the city, righting all the wrongs done by the Akuma. The people around them who had been controlled by The Director were now looking around calmly, trying to understand where they are and how they could get back to where they were supposed to be. It saddened Ladybug to see the civilians so calm in a situation that just three years ago might have caused mass panic. Her resolve to defeat Hawkmoth was fueled with every attack, every blow, every hit, ever alert but this… this was why she wanted to get Hawkmoth out in the open as soon as possible. So the citizens of her city no longer had to be so disconnected form reality, so they could be allowed to feel.  
  
.Ever since the Akuma’s became more violent, the citizens of Paris had really clamped down on their emotions, isolating them and shoving them away. Anything negative was kept under lock and key, shoved in a box that got too small far too quickly and burst at the slightest touch. Akumas were much more powerful now, not just because Mayura was helping Hawkmoth too but because there was so much negativity for the akumas fed off of, to utilize because once someone reached their tipping point, they plummeted down a well of emotion that drowned them and there was no hope of escaping it. It filled your lungs, heart, and mind, corrupting you until no one could recognize what you’ve become. Hawkmoth preyed on those who were at their weakest, who have been torn down and ripped to pieces, those who had no reason to fight because they were already drowning with no way out. The walls were closing in on them and their air was running out. It was easier to give up at that point, easier to let defeat take over than fight and prolong your suffering. Everyone surrendered now days.  
  
“Ladybug.” Queen Bee placed a gloved hand on Ladybug’s shoulder as their miraculous beeped. “We have to go.”  
  
The spotted heroine nodded and the two of them unspooled their yo-yo and spinning top respectively, heading off to detransform and return to Gotham with Kaakli’s help.


	11. Chapter 11

Marinette was nervous. Chloe was over it. That wasn’t anything new in and of itself. Over the last couple of years, Marinette had both gained and lost a lot of her confidence. It seemed somewhat of an oxymoron but to someone who knew Marinette it made sense. The petite woman grew more confident in her skills, such as being a superhero and as a seamstress but she had also lost a lot of her social confidence, a result of the forced isolation that Lila subjected her to. As for Chloe, she hadn’t changed all that much, in regards to how quickly she got frustrated with people. True, she was more tolerant with the general public and especially her friends but her temper was still infamous among their classmates. 

Regardless of their emotional states however, they still had to go back to Gotham and once against face their class. Marinette was still riding the adleranine that resulted from fighting an akuma, just as she knew Chloe was too, and desperately hoped that it would be enough for them both to make it through at least the next hour in relatively stable emotional states. 

“There you are!” Mlle.Mendeleiev exclaimed as she rushed them, tears in her eyes and clothes rumpled. She looked so distressed that Marinette feared she was about to have a mental breakdown.

Chloe was startled that someone noticed their absence. It wasn’t unusual for their entire class to forget they existed or be convinced by Lila that they had run off for some reason or another that would make them targets the next time they came in contact with their class. For someone to acknowledge them, especially a teacher, and look worried-sick about their absence is… well, it’s both a relief and very strange. 

Marinette had opened her mouth to reply but Mlle.Mendeleiev didn’t leave her room to speak, “Where were you! Both yesterday and today you were missing from the class! You are not allowed to wander off on your own, especially without telling a chaperone!”

It took a few seconds for the purple haired teacher’s words to sink in but when they did, they confused bother girls, “But Mlle.Bustier doesn’t even notice when we go off on our own and besides, it’s not like she’d care,” Chloe scoffed and crossed her arms.

Mlle.Mendeleiev looked like she had been struck across the face. “That...That is unacceptable!” her shock was quick to morph in anger, her face flushing with the power of her fury.

Marinette and Chloe watched with rampant fascination as Mlle.Mendeleiev turned on her heel and marched over to the main group, who were still abuzz with the Akuma Attack. Mlle.Bustier was talking to two black haired men, one of whom seemed to be their tour guide -the man who had approached them about Tim- and the other they assumed worked in the building, going off of his basic-looking business attire. When Mlle.Bustier spotted Mlle.Mendeleiev approaching her over the shoulder of the business man, she smiled, unable to see the bright, raging fury that radiated off of the older woman.

“Esmee! Meet Mr.Grayson and Mr.-”Caline didn’t get to finish her sentence, cut off the loud voice of a self-righteous science teacher.

“What kind of teacher are you!” Esmee Mendeleiev began, her words biting and sharp, “You don’t notice when two of the best students in the whole district going missing from your class for a whole day, you allow one of your students to spread false rumors, you allow that same student to claim injury and give her special treatment for it without reaching out to her doctor or her parents to verify whether those injuries truly affect her as much as she claims, you blame the victim of severe bullying for said bullying, you do not step in and punish the bullies, and you show a complete and utter disregard for the safety of your students! How could someone so incompetent and useless with no knowlege about how to actually and successfully be an adult be put in charge of a group of impressionable children!?”

Marinette couldn’t help feeling like her breath had been knocked out of her as she listened to Mlle.Mendeleiev go off on her homeroom teacher. A teacher, one of the most senior and professional teachers with great sway in their school, had noticed what was happening in Caline Bustier’s homeroom class and spoken up about it. Marinette had to swallow to keep a sound inside of her throat. Whether it was a sob of relief or a cry of victory wasn’t clear.

“Esmee what-” Caline tried to interrupt, fear in every line of her body, but was completely ignored by Mlle.Mendeleiev.

“That’s not to mention the kind of danger your class is constantly in! Almost every single member of your class has been akumatized, some twice! You yourself have been akumatized! And that is without mentioning this trip! When we almost got mugged at gunpoint, it was not you who disarmed the assailant and protected the whole group, but the two supposed ‘delinquents’ who are ‘nothing but trouble’ and ‘the class would be better off without’! You did nothing! Two of your students -the daughter of the damn Mayor and the bakers’ daughter- put themselves in danger because you did nothing! Add on to that the fact that you chose to instead of letting us stay in a hotel in a safer side of town move us right next to Crime Alley! The base of many gangs, crime lords and supervillains! How could you be stupid enough to do that!?!”

The whole loddy was looking at them with curiosity in their eyes, intruded by the one-sided French screaming match. Mlle.Bustier’s class was listening and watching this unfold before them with a mixture of horror and anger.

“I would also like to mention that you believe proposturatous rumors started by your own student, including but not limited to one of your very own students, one of the best students in the whole school, hiring some drunk to hold the entire class at gunpoint and try to rob them! I cannot believe how moronic you are! To think that they even left you in charge of an enter class. Everyone under your care has been suffering worse and worse grades, have been displaying almost cult-like behavior and have the highest rate of akumatizations! I have barely interacted with any of you during this trip and I’ve already noticed so many things wrong! I am going to report you to the school board. I wanted to wait till we got back but to see and hear you blaming Ms.Dupain-Cheng and Ms.Bourgios and taking the word of one of your most problematic students as law has been absolute torture.”

During Mlle.Mendeleiev's rant, Marinette and Chloe had moved closer to the teacher, shoulders squared and jaws set as they backed their science teacher. They both wanted to break down sobbing and hug the purple haired teacher but they knew that that wouldn’t achieve anything positive for them. So instead they offered their silent support and glared at their classmates, who had slowly formed a clump of nervous teens behind Mlle.Bustier.    
Speaking of Mlle.Bustier, the strawberry blonde had taken several steps back, fear and shock clear on her whole face as she tried to find a way out of the situation. Of course, she wouldn’t, as Marinette and Chloe -with unnoticed help from Dick and Bruce- had glared everyone else in the room into submission. Many were very quick to clear out of the room while others slunk into the shadows to observe the proceedings. 

Caline Bustier was near tears by the time Esmee Mendeleiev had given herself time to breathe properly again. She wanted to say more, so much more but it wouldn’t all be appropriate to say in front of the children so she reserved it to when they got back to Paris. She was shaking with the force of her anger and sadness, tears in her own eyes but she couldn't tell if they were because of her rampant emotions or because it was the natural way her body wanted to release some of the stress that had built up inside of her. 

Marinette moved to Mlle.Mendeleiev’s side and lay a hand on her forearm as Chloe came up on her other side. Both of them extended their silent support to their teacher who was for the first time experiencing what they had for a long time. Their first breakdowns over their class had been horrible and extreme too but it would get easier with time and some support. Marinette swallowed as she saw the tears on her own cheeks mirrored by her teacher and her partner. Her throat was closed, thought there were no words for her to say anyway, not ones that would help any of them. 

Chloe was always better at compartmentalizing and working through her emotions to do what she thought had to be done, “Thank you Mlle.Mendeleiev.”

A fresh wave of shudders and tears tore through their teacher as she realized her meaning. They were thanking her for standing up for them even though they thought it was pointless. They thought it didn’t matter that, anyone noticing, because nothing could or would change. Mlle.Mendeleiev took a deep breath then straightened, her spin ramrod straight and eyes filled with fire. 

“This trip is now over. We are going back to the hotel to pack. I will change our flight to tomorrow so be prepared to leave at any moment.'' The science teacher’s voice was steel and no one dared to object. 

When no one moved, the emotionally high strung teacher growled at them, “Get moving. Now.” She snapped and the entire class began to clamor back outside, to the bus still parked out front. Mlle.Bustier had shrunk in on herself and not even Lila dared say a word. 

“Girls.” Mlle.Mendeleiev began to shake her head, hesitating, “Please be careful with them. I know they will be even more volatile now. I give you permission to go out for the rest of the day as long as you check in with me every hour. Do you understand?”

Marinette nearly gaped at the kindness her teacher was showing them. Chloe had no such qualms and nodded, taking Marinette’s hands in hers and leading her over to the couch where Tim was still passed out. The two of them sat down a little bit away from the sleeping young man and wrapped their arms around one another, letting their emotions run wild as they cried on each other's shoulder. They had done this many times before, though usually in one of the Four’s bedrooms. Never in public but there was no private, safe space for them to go. 

Marinette’s phone dinged and the small french teen couldn’t help but reach into her pocket and pull out the device. The screen was illuminated by the light of a text message from Damian. 

_ ‘Would you like to meet me and Titus in the Gotham Grand Park?’ _

_ ‘I have the strangest feeling that you might want some company right now’ _

Marinette pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to leave Chloe alone right now but the thought of Damian -and Titus, of course- lifted a little bit of the weight on her heart. She considered it for a moment then wrote, ‘ _ Can I bring a friend? I don’t want to leave her alone rn _ .’

After a moment of hesitation she continued, feeling like she should probably explain,‘ _ Something happened with our class _ ’

She didn’t even have to wait for a long time till Damian replied, ‘ _ of course. We shall meet in an hour's time _ .’

Marinette couldn’t help the tiny smile on her lips. Maybe this day wouldn’t be a complete disaster. 


End file.
